Where You Belong

67

Finding himself in an empty exam room with only ten or so minutes to spare before his meeting with the board, Derek muttered to himself as he struggled to make his tie lie straight. He was still exhausted, but the lunch his girlfriend had brought him helped in making him feel a little more human.

He swallowed uncomfortably before swearing as his fingers came up to his tie once more. He hated wearing ties; they reminded him of a life he never wanted to be leading again. They reminded him of a stuffy and monotonous private practice, weekly society dinners and a slew of people he wouldn't miss if he never saw again.

He used to wear ties every day. Now he only wore them on occasion. And today, the fabric around his neck felt much more like a noose than a piece of clothing.

When the door swung open behind him, he sucked in a breath and prepared to turn to meet the intruder and act as if everything was perfectly okay. But the scent of lavender hit his nostrils and he breathed easier.

Meredith's small hands snaked around his lower torso as she hugged him from behind. "Are you ready?"

"I wish I didn't have to wear a tie," he muttered, his fingers returning to the offending material once more. "I hate ties."

She released her grip around him and moved around him to push his hands away from his neck, replacing them with her own. Silently, she untied the knot and readjusted the tie around his neck before retying it.

He couldn't help but smile at her actions, especially at the way her upper incisors were pressed firmly down on her lower lip as she concentrated on the task.

"There," she finally announced when she had finished, "How's that?"

"Much better," he responded, leaning down to kiss her. "Thank-you."

"You're very welcome," she breathed, resting her now free hands open-palmed against his chest. "And I know you hate ties, but I can't say I share your feelings. You look very handsome, and they're good for things..."

He narrowed his eyes. "What kind of things?"

She smirked and shifted one hand over, grasping the tie and tugging, pulling him down to her level to kiss him. "See? Look how easy that is," she explained when they had pulled away. "I don't have to stand on my tip toes at all."

He chuckled. "I think I'm going to need a second demonstration..."

With a giggle, Meredith repeated the action, this time the kiss lasting several moments longer.

"Ah, yes, now I really understand."

She sidled even closer to him. "And I'm sure ties can be put to other uses too...more private uses..."

He felt like he had taken a punch to the gut; not necessarily a bad one, just bad for right now. "You can make it dirty," he chastised, pushing her fingers away from his tie, "Not when I have to wear it to a very important meeting."

She giggled. "Okay, you go to your meeting, and then we'll make it dirty later..."

"Meredith..." He whined, his body beginning to think of things that had nothing to do with board meetings.

She smiled before standing up on her tip-toes and pecking his lips. "Okay, I'll be good."

He smiled down at her, wondering how he had gotten so lucky when he realized how calm he felt. She had done this on purpose. She had baited him and joked with him and brought up certain things because she had known it would relax him. God, he was lucky.

"I should go," he found himself whispering, despite the fact that there was no where he would rather be but with her.

"You should," she agreed. "And you're going to do awesome. I know it."